Resolving to obey God rather than men - Acts 5
5th May
Acts 5
Resolving to obey God rather than men
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!”(Acts 5v29). A few days earlier, Peter and John had been brought before the Council for healing a cripple and ordered no longer to speak in the Name of Jesus Christ and their response was “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4v19),
The same Peter had chickened out when confronted by a servant girl at the trial of Jesus and three times denied knowing him! So what happened?
Peter provides the answer in his address to the Council “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” (v32) – that God gives the Holy Spirit to THOSE WHO OBEY HIM.
If the Holy Spirit is the energy that powers the witness, then obedience is the conduit through which the effect of the Holy Spirit is felt. Let’s examine some few examples:
i) The apostles are arrested and put in Jail. The Angel of the Lord goes and frees then and instructs them to go back to the place they were arrested and continue to do what they were doing when they were arrest! (v19-21) They obeyed rather than scarping for safety as would have been the normal human response to such a threat and miraculous delivery.
ii) Much later, in the midst of persecution when scatters the fellowship, Philip, in Samaria, is instructed by an angel to “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Acts 8v26). Philip obeyed even though he was not told specifically what or why he was told to go and this led to the salvation of the Ethiopian Eunuch.
iii) Ananias is instructed by God to go and pray for Saul who had just arrived Damascus with a letter from the Chief Priest to arrest christians – Despite his misgivings, He obeyed and Saul is brought into faith and becomes a major driving force behind the spread of the gospel to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 9v10-19)
The scriptures reels with examples of those who resolved to obey God and in the process were empowered to do the impossible examples of which are listed in the Faith’s Hall of fame as beautifully captured in Hebrews 11.
The summary therefore is that if I must partner God to do the impossible, if I am to be a recipient of the promised Holy Spirit and the power He brings, my first resolve must be to OBEY God whatever the cost!!!. Samuel talking to Saul captured how God regards obedience. He said “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15v22)
Lord, I pray for the courage and willingness to obey you in each and every circumstance today and always. This I pray through my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
